


but something flipped like a switch when you came around

by ackermanx



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M, Other Characters Are Mentioned, dragon/sacrifice au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 09:19:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13245210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackermanx/pseuds/ackermanx
Summary: /why is it/, genome thinks, /that i have lived for decades, and yet i can't find the courage to kiss a mere human?/





	but something flipped like a switch when you came around

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Infernx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infernx/gifts).



> hhey fir merry (late) christmas, i remember you or echo (or both?) tweeting about this au so. kicks up leggy. here you go :3

"We are gathered here today, on the four hundred and thirty-second anniversary of the day that Naga saved us humans from certain destruction..."

 

Inigo almost wishes that Owain were here, if only so that the speech that was leading up to his certain death wouldn't be so mind-numbing.

 

Next to him, Olivia squeezes his hand gently, mistaking the pinched look on his face for fear rather than utter boredom. "D-Don't worry so much...it's for a good cause, r-right? And - your father, he says that being sacrificed isn't...so...bad?"

 

"No offense, Mother," Inigo smiles wanly, "but whatever Father has to say about death is never uplifting."

 

He manages to wave off of Olivia's apologies and convince her that  _I'm feeling fine, really, not any worse than how I started, I promise_ right before the speaker finishes his speech with "now, lead the boy out and let us pray for another year of protection!"

 

Olivia's hand is torn away from Inigo's and two men that Inigo has never seen before take their places on either side of him.

 

And as they walk away from civilization and into the dense woods, as he's knocked out and his vision blurs on the face of a man reluctant to do his job, Inigo can't help but feel like he's never going to see the light of day ever again.

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey. Hey.  _Hey."_

 

Slowly becoming aware of a hand roughly patting his cheek, Inigo blinks back to reality.

 

_Wait. A hand. On my cheek. A hand?_

 

He screams and scrambles on all fours - in what direction, he isn't sure, but soon enough his back hits a wall and he has no choice but to pull his knees up, tuck his head in, and pray to Naga that he hasn't come all this way just to be murdered by a common thief.

 

"...I'm not going to eat you, you know."

 

"H-How am I supposed to know that?"

 

Inigo somehow manages to find his voice again, licking his dried-out lips and not liking how trembly he sounds. "Who even are you? I-I don't have any money on me, so...please..."

 

A sigh.

 

"I see that human eyesight is just as bad as ever. Hang on."

 

A column of flame suddenly shoots out, missing Inigo by a hair. He wants to yell  _careful with the flamethrower, you might actually hurt someone_ , but really, he's thankful for the warmth -

 

Then the fire dims down to a single flickering tongue, Inigo blinks the spots out of his eyes, he's face-to-face with the largest (and only) dragon he's ever seen in his life -

 

He faints once more, body hitting the - warm wall? -

 

* * *

 

 

For the second time in a row, Inigo is woken up by a hand on his face.

 

He tries to protest - but any attempt at freeing himself is short-lived, because his limbs are heavy and his face is feverish to the touch and really, all he wants to do is go back to sleep.

 

"You have a fever," the same voice from before states quietly. "Stay still, unless you want to catch hypothermia while wandering lost outside and die."

 

The most that Inigo can muster up is a nervous laugh. "Cheerful today, aren't you?"

 

"I would be, if there were anything to be cheerful about."

 

The speaker finally moves into the dim candlelight, allowing Inigo to make out their features; which, infuriatingly enough, are still unclear, thanks to a large black mask that takes up half of the face. But as his savior (of sorts) leans over him to readjust the wet cloth on Inigo's forehead, Inigo sees surprisingly soft features and slicked-back pink hair and the first thing he blurts out is "are you a girl?"

 

In a mildly offended tone, he's replied with "I would have hoped that my voice would have helped to dispel such doubts."

 

"Well...yeah, but...aren't there ways to, I don't know, change those things?" Inigo starts struggling to form a complete thought, eyelids growing heavier by the second. "What's - what's your name, anyway?"

 

_Am I hallucinating or is he smiling?_

 

"My name is Gerome. Now sleep, and you'll feel much better when you wake."

 

For some reason, Inigo trusts Gerome's word, and lets the warmth surrounding him drag him into a dreamless sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

The third time that Inigo wakes, it's to the scent of freshly brewed soup and slightly burnt hair.

 

"So, you're not Naga?" he dumbly asks Gerome, who was sitting a few feet away in front of a fire. "Not that you aren't fine the way you are, but I was sorta expecting some godly creature to demand me to say my final words, and then..."

 

Inigo mimes a guillotine, and Gerome sighs.

 

"Naga doesn't live here. Hasn't lived here for decades. She took my mother in, then left this cave and the forest surrounding it to her, and...left. You'd have more luck searching for her in her human form at the nearest human village."

 

Then, half as an afterthought and half to see how much farther Inigo's jaw would drop, Gerome adds "I heard she has a human lover, too."

 

...And Gerome immediately regrets that decision, because Inigo looks like he's going to faint again, so he hurriedly asks "what's  _your_ name, anyway?"

 

"My - ? Have I not told you my name yet, I am so sorry - it's Inigo, by the way. My name."

 

"Yeah, I figured that out the first time you told me," Gerome mumbles.

 

He rises and wordlessly makes his way to Inigo's bedside with a bowl of soup in each hand, handing one to Inigo and keeping one for himself.. Only when Inigo is halfway through his own bowl does Gerome even touch his, and only to stir it mindlessly.

 

Inigo stops eating, ignoring the growling protests of his stomach. "Hey, you okay? You're not touching anything."

 

Gerome blinks, seemingly not registering Inigo's words, until Inigo coughs and nods subtly towards Gerome's bowl of soup.

 

"Oh. This? That's not for me, really. I've already eaten dinner."

 

He watches Inigo's eyes widen in fear, then narrow back down into a squint.

 

"Then - "

 

" _No_ , I really am not going to eat you."

 

"Oh. Well. That's a relief. Yeah."

 

Sheepishly, Inigo grins and sets his empty bowl on the floor. "Hey, if you're really not going to eat that, could I have it? Now that I think about it, I'm actually...famished."

 

Gerome snorts, doing exactly what Inigo had requested, then standing up and stretching.

 

"I advise you to get some rest when you're done. The fever has broken, but that doesn't mean that all your strength has returned yet. And you will need all the strength that you have tomorrow."

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey, wait! What  _are_ we doing?"

 

"Getting some groceries, then getting you home."

 

Without breaking his stride, Gerome swipes an apple from a nearby stall and tosses it over his shoulder to Inigo. "Do you have anywhere you can go?"

 

"Of course - slow down! - of course not! I mean, the village I was ceremoniously thrown out of is my only home, and I can't exactly go  _back_ , can I?"

 

Inigo grins apologetically at another woman whose basket he had nearly overturned, then takes one last giant stride to fall into step with Gerome. " _And_ , I was under the impression that I would be staying with you, and why are we even having this conversation in an open-air marketplace?"

 

"This is much too one-sided to be considered a proper conversation. Hold this."

 

Gerome deposits a sack of vegetables into a spluttering Inigo's arms and a sack of coins into a waiting merchant's hand. "And when did I, in any way, imply that I would like to house a stranger for the rest of their pitifully short life?"

 

The merchant withers under Gerome's glare, but Inigo stays silent.

 

"Exactly. That's what I thought."

 

When Gerome starts up again, Inigo follows, albeit at a slower pace than before. "Well. You didn't have to be so mean about it, y'know."

 

"Was I? I - "

 

Frowning, Gerome runs through the conversation in his head. He finds nothing, but decides to humor Inigo and his one raised eyebrow by going through it again. And again. And ag - 

 

"Oh," he simply says when he finds The Most Likely Spot of Offense. "Perhaps that was a bit callous of me."

 

"Yeah. 'Perhaps,'" Inigo mutters, but there's a smile on his face now, so Gerome thinks that  _okay, maybe I didn't mess up too badly_. "It's fine, you just need to relax a little!."

 

"Relax? Wait - no, I'm not here  _to_ relax, it's just been a while since I've talked with humans, there's still more than half of my shopping list to go through - !"

 

But there was no use protesting - Inigo's grin had widened, and Gerome could feel himself already beginning to be pulled along by the unstoppable force known as Inigo himself into the middle of the town square and promptly seated on the edge of a fountain.

 

" _What_ have I gotten myself into," he sighs, then is immediately shushed by a stranger nearby when Inigo claps twice and turns to face the curious crowd.

 

"Ladies! And gentlemen, of course. I don't expect many of you to have heard of me, but I am a simple traveling performer from the outskirts of Ylisse. But the reason for me so rudely interrupting your day is that I need your help -  _all_ of your help - in showing my miserable-looking friend here - " scattered laughter runs through the gathering as Inigo points a finger at a somewhat offended Gerome - "so, sir, if you would?"

 

The fiddler that Inigo had been talking to just moments ago grins, raises his instrument, and dives right into a fast-paced jig.

 

Inigo, for his part, explodes into motion. Gerome can't tell what exactly he's doing, but he does know that the whirlwind of fabric, limbs, and shockingly pink hair is all Inigo.

 

All of it.

 

Gerome is, to put it lightly, absolutely mesmerized.

 

He comes back to his senses when said whirlwind stops right in front of him, hand extended and out of breath, saying "care to dance?"

 

"I, uh." Gerome doesn't protest this time, letting himself be twirled into Inigo's arms. "I didn't know."

 

"What That coming out of your cave every once in a while could be so fun?"

 

"That you could dance. And I'm choosing to ignore your other statement."

 

Inigo doesn't laugh out loud, but the twinkle in his eyes gives him away. "You never asked."

 

The last that crosses Gerome's mind before the crowd starts dancing too and he loses sight of Inigo is  _humans are still as strange as ever, are they?_

 

* * *

 

 

Gerome stares at the back of Inigo's head, wondering what it would take to get him to turn around.

 

"I can feel you watching me, you know," Inigo calls out. "You're not exactly subtle."

 

"I'll have you know that i wasn't trying to be," he shoots back, but the retort just falls flat on its face. But instead of trying to salvage his pride like he normally would, Gerome untangles himself from his blankets and pads over to the fire, where Inigo was curled up making soup

 

"So? What did you want?"

 

"To know what you're making. It smells...delicious."

 

"Squirrel meat and carrot soup.  _Much_ better than whatever it was that you fed me during my first day here."

 

"But you ate it all, didn't you?"

 

"Anyone will eat  _anything_ when they're hungry. Believe me."

 

Gerome makes a fake-wounded noise and Inigo snorts.

 

"...Hey, in all seriousness, I haven't properly thanked you yet. For saving me."

 

"It's fine." Where it looks like Inigo's about to object, Gerome waves a hand to cut him off. " _Really_ , it's fine. Sacrifices aren't...my thing."

 

"There's gotta be something I can do, though, or else I'll feel bad for a long, long time."

 

"Are you trying to guilt me, now?"

 

Inigo breaks into a grin. "It's working, isn't it?"

 

" _Fine_ , if you must insist."

 

Huffing out a laugh, Gerome turns so he's facing the bubbling pot instead of Inigo. "Then tell me about human mating rituals."

 

"You want me to - you want me to tell you about se - "

 

" _No_! Not...that." He tries to ignore Inigo's muffled laughter. "You know. Finding a mate, marriage, all of those things."

 

"Oh, sure, I can do that. There's not much  _to_ say, though? You find someone you like, date them, and if you're lucky enough, get married. Sounds pretty simple, but - " a pained laugh - "in practice, really hard."

 

"Mmm. And this period of time from first meeting to first date, how long is it, usually?"

 

"That's...that's hard to say. It's different for everyone. I have two friends who circled around each other for  _years_ before either of them said anything."

 

"...Would you say that a week would be appropriate?"

 

"Not unheard of, that's for sure."

 

Inigo shrugs, ready to move on to the next question, but something about Gerome's tone makes him hesitate. "Gerome...?"

 

"Would you say that a relationship between two of the same gender would be appropriate?"

 

"Gerome - "

 

Scrambling to turn around, Inigo gently takes Gerome's face in his hands. "Gerome - look at me - what are you saying - ?z

 

"Remember when I told you that Naga has a human lover?" Gerome offers a wavering smile. "Would you object to such a union?"

 

" _No,_ no, of course I wouldn't. I was just overwhelmed when you told me, but..."

 

Gerome can't help it - he wants to laugh.  _This is ridiculous. Why is it,_ he thinks,  _that I have lived for decades, and yet I can't find the courage to kiss a mere human?_

 

But Inigo is there, and Inigo does it for him, sliding his thumbs underneath Gerome's mask and leaning forward to press a light kiss onto Gerome's lips. "I wouldn't mind one bit."

 

Not even daring to breathe for fear of ruining the moment, Gerome closes his eyes. "Am I correct in assuming that we'll be the next talk of the country, just like Naga?"

 

A bubbly laugh, then an already-familiar weight drops onto Gerome's shoulder.

 

"Yes, I suppose we shall."

**Author's Note:**

> winter break is over and now i'm back on my bullshit
> 
> yell at me on twitter @axlotlols !!


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